Kale Salad with Creamy Anchovy Dressing

September 2, 2013

Even if you cook all the time, sometimes you just need a little help to organize yourself in the kitchen. A little help figuring out not only what’s for dinner but what sides to serve with it. Or even what order you should start preparing everything, especially if you are having dinner guests.

That’s where the iPhone/iPad/website Cooking Planit can help! Browse their chef recommended meals or custom build your own meal by searching for specific courses, dishes or ingredients. After you create your meal you can then print your shopping list or access it through the iphone/pad app. What makes the shopping list unique on Cooking Planit, is that it includes photos of the ingredients, perfect for those just getting into cooking or learning about new foods. This app is pretty cool in that once you are ready to cook the meal, the app/website walks you through the entire process of cooking the whole meal from start to finish.

Other things to note: Every recipe has a photo of the completed dish. You know I love this and so many of you do to! When you search for recipe you use advance search features that allow you to filter out dietary restrictions, search by course, or special occasion. (For my original detailed review click here.)

Last week I featured a Cooking Planit recipe for Chicken Tenders with Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce that will definitely be going in our regular meal rotation. This Kale Salad with Creamy Anchovy Dressing was one of the sides I served with it. This is basically a fancy ‘Caesar salad,’ with homemade dressing and kale.

I loved traditional Caesar Salad as kid because, well, it didn’t have any added vegetables. LOL! Now as an adult I love this version for the added nutrient punch from the kale. The kale makes up for the lack of other veggies and totally makes this creamy dressing a-okay (right?)! And that homemade dressing, well of course it blows the bottled stuff away.

Separate the leaves of kale from the stems. Discard the stems. Place leaves in a large bowl. Cover with cold water and soak the leaves for 10 minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the milk, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, mayonnaise, anchovy paste and garlic. Season to taste with black pepper and salt. Set aside.

Remove the kale leaves from the water. If there is a lot of grit left in the bowl, repeat the soaking process until water is clean. Dry cleaned and rinsed kale leaves thoroughly on paper towels or using a salad spinner.

Tear kale leaves into bite size pieces. Place the kale in a clean, large mixing bowl or salad bowl. Drizzle dressing over kale and toss to combine. Serve salad topped with croutons and Parmesan cheese.

Disclosure: The giveaway is sponsored by Cooking Planit and T-Fal. I was provided a cookware set for participation as well as one to giveaway. Cooking Planit also sponsored this dinner. All thoughts and opinions are my own.